Winter encounter (gt fluff)
by maddietoes
Summary: A borrower named James got separated from his family. Will he ask a human for help?
1. Chapter 1

I woke to the soft red glow of my alarm clock, which read 4:49. I was surprised I was able to wake up that early, since I was usually up only five minutes before the bus came. It was Friday, so I thought I might get a little dressed up. I put on some purple eyeshadow and lipstick and found a cute sweater from my closet. Maybe I'll get Cole's attention today, I thought as I went downstairs to feed my cat. My dad wasn't up yet so I thought I'd take care of it for him.

Once I was through my morning routine, my dad was finally awake.

"You look nice today," he said with a smile. "What's the occasion?"

"No occasion," I replied. "Just felt like actually trying today."

After I'd gotten some coffee in me, I grabbed my coat and backpack.

"Whoa!" There was a fresh blanket of snow on the ground, the first one of the year.

"Oh yeah, I forgot—school is closed because of ice on the roads. Sorry your outfit went to waste," my dad yelled from the kitchen.

"That's fine," I yelled back. "I'd rather not have school than have two people comment on my outfit."

I was excited now—I had so much free time. The snow wasn't as thrilling, though. I've been losing interest in a lot of stuff like that. It's just another sign of my depression. Every time I see something I used to enjoy, I feel worse, knowing I won't feel happy anymore when I see it.

I knew my brother would be excited though, and that I'd have to take him sledding since he can't go alone. So I waited downstairs, relaxing at the thought that I didn't have any papers to write.

About ten minutes later, I heard Alex jumping out of bed.

"SNOW!" he shouted in his squeaky little voice.

I smiled at his innocence, and envied that he was still young and happy. But since I couldn't do anything to change it, I figured I might as well just try to protect him from the world as long as I can.

"You want to go sledding or build a snowman first?" I called up to him.

"Sledding!" He giggled as he made his way downstairs.

I helped him put on his coat and gloves, then left to find mine. He had already found the sled in the garage and was pulling it down the driveway when I came outside.

"C'mon, Maddie! It's gonna melt!"

"Okay, I'm coming." I laughed.

Only minutes later, we had trudged through the snow to the hill by the front of our neighborhood.

"Go play with your friends, Alex. I'll be right over here."

"Okay!" He ran to another group of kids.

I decided to make myself comfortable since I'd be there for a while. There was a forest nearby, so I made my way over to one of the thick trees to lean on. As I got closer, I noticed something moving out of the corner of my eye.

Next to one of the trees was a little person, a little boy to be precise, only a few inches tall. He looked up at me with fear in his eyes.

I had a million questions. Who was this boy? How did he get here? What was he?

But I knew all that could wait until I helped him get out of the snow. He looked freezing cold. I could see him shivering. His clothes weren't helping—they were closer to rags than clothing.

"Uh, hi," I said as I took a step closer. He immediately scrambled to get away, but slipped in the cold snow.

"Wait! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. I just want to help." I tried to talk as softly as I could. Being loud would not only make a scene, but scare him more as well.

He stopped struggling to escape, but that might have been because his body was too numb to keep trying.

I cautiously took another step, gauging his reaction. He flinched but stayed where he was. I could see that he wanted to trust me, but I was too big to trust completely. I could do anything to him, and he couldn't stop me. It was a horrible feeling, and it broke my heart to see that I scared him so much. I just wanted to help.

I took one slow step after another, so that if he wanted to run he could. I'd never want to trap him or do anything he didn't want me to do. But if he wanted help, he was going to have to trust me.

When I was only about two feet away, I knelt down on the ground, trying to get as low as possible. I pulled my gloves off slowly and laid my hands down flat like a platform.

He eyed me warily, glancing between my face and my hands. I could see him physically preparing himself. I let him take as much time as he wanted.

Slowly, he made his way over, hesitating when he got to my fingers. He took the first step onto my skin, then another and another. It was the weirdest sensation. I was awestruck as I realized what was happening. This person whom I'd just met was literally putting their life in my hands.

"Holy crap," I whispered.

The boy flinched away from my voice.

"Oh sorry. My name's Maddie, what's yours?"

He seemed surprised by the question, and it took a moment for him to respond.

"J-James," he squeaked.


	2. Chapter 2

James's Perspective

"We're almost there," Dad called as we made our way over another huge rock.

"O-ok," I replied, shivering. I hated moving. Why did humans have to take away our home? I had grown up in that house, under their floorboards, but they had decided to knock it down. It's good we overheard the plans so we could move before that happened. But it still hurt that we lost our home. Even worse, the humans wanted to do it in winter! We didn't have the chance to make new warm clothes before we left, so we had to wear the rags we already had.

It's lucky my dad found a home close by we could go to. But we still have to travel in the freezing cold, in the snow, with all our stuff.

I'm beginning to hate humans, they are so loud and scary, they think they can do whatever they want. I've been taught never to be seen by one, or I'd be killed or sold like a pet. But not only are humans dangerous, there are wild animals that could eat us or loud vehicles that could hit us. That's why we're forced to depend on humans. We use their homes for shelter while we take bits of food so we won't starve. We can't take too much though, or they would notice, and then they'd trap us like animals. So we have to stay away from humans as much as we can.

But without them, we would die off, so I guess I'm grateful for that.

We decided to move during the day, since most predators would be asleep. The way to our new home is through the woods, so we have to be extra careful. It's good that humans aren't around here though, that would make things much worse.

The wind started to pick up, going right through my rags and into my skin. I tried to hug my mother for warmth, but she was just as cold. We finally made it to the top of a hill so we decided to rest. I could see our new home from here, but we needed to save our energy and get warm before our fingers turned purple.

"Hey look, you see that hole?" Dad asked. "Looks like it used to be a burrow, but it doesn't look like it's being used anymore. Let's build a fire in there. James, grab some dry sticks, I'll help your mother inside."

I did as I was told, managing to find a few that were untouched by the snow. As I turned around, I noticed a tingling sensation, like I was being watched. I looked all around until I spotted it—a fox. The blood drained from my face as I saw it crouch down, assessing its prey. Inwardly I was panicking, but I knew I had to appear calm if I wanted to get out of this.

I couldn't shout to my parents, and I didn't have any weapons. All I could do was wait.

And then it pounced.

I ran down the hill as fast as I could. Tears streamed down my face, and I thought this was the end for me. I tripped over a rock as I was running and fell face first into the snow. I could feel a cut on my foot but I didn't care, I just kept running. I took a sharp right and ended up falling down another hill. This time I didn't get up, I just waited.

I could see the fox above, sniffing around, trying to catch my scent.

"Oh god," I thought, "my life is really over." I shut my eyes tight and waited for the pain of teeth ripping my skin.

But it never came.

I slowly opened my eyes to see the fox was gone. Probably going to find other food. I let out a long sigh of relief, but it was cut short as I looked around and realized I had no idea where I was.

I started to cry again, but as quietly as I could, so no animals would hear. I was alone and hurt and afraid. I curled up in the freezing snow and just let out all my frustration and fear. At least it kept me a little warm, with all the moving.

A little while later, I calmed down, assessing the situation. I think I remembered my parents telling me that if I was lost, I needed to stay put and they would find me, so that's what I did. Until I heard the crunching of huge boots in the distance.

I looked up, shaking in fear. I knew a human was nearby, but my body was too numb to get up and run away. I debated whether to still try, but it was too late when her eyes locked onto mine.

My blood froze.

She saw me.

"Oh god, NOW this is it. No more second chances like with that fox. There's no way out of this." I shook more and more as those thoughts came to mind, and more tears fell.

"Um, hi." She said.

Oh no, she was making small talk before I was killed.

I needed to at least try to run.

I got up onto my feet, but I forgot about my injury, and I slipped in the now watery snow, landing on my side.

"Wait!" she called. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. I just want to help."

It was at this point that I realized exactly how cold I was. I could see my body taking on a blue tinge.

If I didn't get help, I would never see my family again.

I watched her movements carefully. If I wanted to live, I had to trust her. But that didn't stop me from being utterly terrified.

She took a step forward and I flinched. It was kind of hard not to when a giant was coming toward you.

I looked at her face, expecting to see her enjoying my fear, but all I saw was remorse. This human surprised me. She didn't grab me, or try to trap me. What did she really want? She couldn't just want to help, humans only do things if they get something in return, and there's certainly nothing I could give her to make up for this.

She carefully lowered herself to the ground. I was grateful for her soft voice and slow movements.

She began to take off her gloves and lower her hands to the ground in front of me.

I knew what I was supposed to do, and I was shocked I was considering it. But I knew that if I didn't move, she might just grab me. I took a few deep breaths and stood up. My foot throbbed in response but I ignored it. I didn't want to seem any weaker than I already was.

I slowly stepped over to her fingertips, which were almost as wide as I was. I eyed her warily all the way, thinking she would just take me if I wasn't fast enough. But no, I saw it in her eyes, I saw her begging for my trust.

I took a step onto her hand. Her skin was soft but firm, and I could feel the heat radiating from it. For a second, I was envious of humans, how they didn't have to worry about the cold as much as we did. But I liked who I was, and wouldn't trade it for life as a human any day.

I took a few more steps, flinching as she spoke again.

"Holy crap," she whispered. But then she talked softer after seeing my reaction. "Oh, sorry. My name's Maddie, what's yours?"

To say I was surprised was an understatement. Why would this human care about my name if she could just keep me as a pet and name me herself?

Thinking she would do something bad if I didn't respond, I forced the words out of my mouth.

"J-James"


End file.
